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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29643594">for you, 2000 years later</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/aenar_thedragonlady/pseuds/aenar_thedragonlady'>aenar_thedragonlady</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 20:35:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,317</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29643594</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/aenar_thedragonlady/pseuds/aenar_thedragonlady</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>life seemed normal, as it always was</p>
<p>but she wasn't aware of something,</p>
<p>or rather, someone,</p>
<p>who's been waiting for 2000 years.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Mikasa Ackerman/Eren Yeager</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>98</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Amazing AOT Fics</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>for you, 2000 years later</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It started with splitting headaches and waking up late at night without reason. </p>
<p>Sleep wasn’t the refuge she once saw it as.</p>
<p>	She would wake up at the oddest hours in a cold sweat and her heart pounding out of her ribcage. Her fingertips grew calloused at all the picking and grasping she did on her sheets.</p>
<p>	That was only the beginning, of course.</p>
<p>	The headaches and insomnia stopped in about a week. She grew relieved until that is, she noticed that she would blackout from time to time. It was momentary. A few seconds at a time. The world grew black even though her eyes were open. She only began noticing when she’d miss bits and pieces of an online lecture or a discussion, or when the dialogue in her favourite television show just didn’t make sense.</p>
<p>She was very much sure she wasn’t ailing. </p>
<p>	She wanted to get herself checked up when the blackouts grew more frequent, but every time she brought herself to dial the reception nurse’s number, something always seemed to distract her, making her forget. When she noticed that she had yet to make the call, she’d be way out of office hours. </p>
<p>	She just probably needed more iron.</p>
<p>	She kept convincing herself that, and also that she needed sleep. Her studying schedules were somehow all over the place at the moment, but she’d always been a workaholic. It was almost impossible to be manageable because of her studies. That Bachelor’s degree better be worth it.</p>
<p>	One week of the blackouts convinced her she was going crazy. </p>
<p>	When they stopped, she hoped to god that nothing else decided to smack her right in the face or put her on her ass. </p>
<p>	Her hopes faltered when the blackouts were replaced by flashes. They were quick and easy to ignore, seen behind her eyelids every time she closed her eyes a second too long after a blink.</p>
<p>Flashes of red and silver. Glimpses at a towering forest and a vast and clear blue sky.</p>
<p>These visions-what she decided to call them-made her feel lightheaded.</p>
<p>They made her feel as if she was flying, which was ironic. She never boarded a plane, all her life, and never tried things like those flying fox rigs or bungee jumping. </p>
<p>She’d be a sobbing blubbering mess at just the sight of those. She didn’t exactly have a fear of heights, but something about being suspended or flying in the air made her sick to the stomach and queasy.</p>
<p>About a week in with the visions, which she decided might have been from watching too much science fiction and fantasy, they decided to haunt her to her sleep.</p>
<p>The cold sweating and insomnia came back. The visions grew in clarity as they grew in frequency. Her head would pound every time she bolted upright in her bed at night. </p>
<p>At times the obscure smell of rotting flesh pierced her nose, and the faintest sound of straining metal and whirring gears ghosted her ears. She saw white brick walls stretching up into the sky. Then she saw one where she ran her palms over these small purple flowers, glittering under the sun’s rays and scattered everywhere on the ground. </p>
<p>She racked through the internet to find matches. </p>
<p>Nothing came up.</p>
<p>At that point she was convinced she needed to see a doctor.</p>
<p>“I’m sure you’ve been under an immense amount of stress lately. Since you’ll be having your semester break, I suggest you have plenty of rest. I won’t diagnose you with anything or put you on any medication, but if anything comes up suddenly, we can reschedule another appointment.”</p>
<p>The doctor’s diagnosis gave her the relief she needed. Yet more questions arose from the answered mystery. </p>
<p>Luckily, she finally came to her one-month semester break and was able to focus on herself completely without splitting her thoughts to what's been bugging her and classes on anatomy or pharmacology.</p>
<p>She tried herbal teas and scented candles. Then meditation and yoga. She even set up a hasty journal of sorts to keep a log of the things she heard and saw and smelled. </p>
<p>They worked wonders initially, all the headaches and hallucinations stopping completely for a few days. The relief that washed over her felt amazing. That night she slept with a content smile to herself, all her coursework and assignments done and turned in, and most importantly, her slumber would be undisturbed.</p>
<p>But when she felt her heart racing and her muscles tensing in her sleep, she cursed inwardly. She knew very well what was coming.</p>
<p>She wanted to wake up before it began, but there was nothing she could possibly do.</p>
<p>The oceanic smell of her candles that she snuffed out before she slept grew so strong her nostrils ached, and the sound of waves lapping against a shore grew louder in her ears. She heard seagulls singing and the shuffling of cloven equine hooves. </p>
<p>The first thing she saw were eyes.</p>
<p>Dark grey eyes piercing into her from the back of a crowd.</p>
<p>Brown eyes framed by brown hair in a house with wooden walls.</p>
<p>Brilliant blue eyes behind strands of golden blond hair against a white sand beach.</p>
<p>Damn it. Stop already.</p>
<p>Her head pounded harder. Her pulse thrummed everywhere inside her. She tried screwing her eyes tighter, maybe then she’d be able to shake it away.</p>
<p>But a flash of bright red momentarily blinded her. Then the smell of smoke choked her. She felt her eyes water. </p>
<p>She wasn’t sure where she was, but she was high above the ground, clad in some type of black uniform with metallic wires and rods crossing over everywhere along her torso and appendages. </p>
<p>Silver steel whipped in front of her and steam billowed upwards from where it pierced the surface she was standing on, the heat almost excruciating. Whatever she stood on, it swayed under her feet and she dropped to her knees. Her arms grasped the erect blade-what she decided it was, judging from the sharpened and gleaming edge-and she dragged it towards her, slicing what seemed to be flesh and blubber.</p>
<p>When the flesh tore open to reveal the hazy image of a body, she threw the blade away, letting it drop to the ground, however far below that was. Whatever she was kneeling on began losing altitude, her tears-which weren’t hers, they belonged to whoever this was-flew upwards as they fell. </p>
<p>	She clung onto the body with all the life that she had in her, and with a strangled scream heaved the torso that she held upwards. The other person’s arms grabbed onto her own, almost desperately. </p>
<p>Whoever this was, she was overtaken by anguish as her hand came to hold the bloodied face of the man in her arms. He was bleeding profusely through a wound in his chest, and his eyes were half-lidded. His laboured breathing concerned her as she brushed away all the brown hair that stuck to his face.</p>
<p>The woman spoke, calling out his name.</p>
<p>The woman sounded exactly like her.</p>
<p>She watched in disbelief as she cradled whoever that man was.</p>
<p>She called for him again, this time, her voice reduced to a whisper as sobs threatened to rack through her body.</p>
<p>“Eren.” she sighed, one arm holding his dying body to her as another caressed his cheek. She called for him again, saying, “It’s over, Eren. We can go home now.”</p>
<p>She bit her lip to keep herself together. His tired eyes opened to look into hers.</p>
<p>They were green. So green that she couldn’t seem to compare them to anything. They were unlike anything she saw before. Hauntingly stark against his pale and battered face, alien almost, but beautiful nonetheless.</p>
<p>His quivering lips lifted to a small smile, a trembling hand slipping a loose lock of hair behind her ear. He forced words out of his lips, struggling with having to pronounce each syllable. He said four words, and those four words sent shivers through her body. </p>
<p> “You did it, Mikasa.”</p>
<p>She sat upright and clutched to her chest, coughing profusely. Her cheeks were stained with tears and the pounding headache grew dull compared to the confusion that plagued her.</p>
<p>She was reeling with whatever that she saw and experienced, trying to make sense of it all when her stomach turned, the sensation grotesque, and she spent the next half hour heaving her stomach’s contents in her bathroom.</p>
<p>He knew her name. How the hell did he know her name.</p>
<p>She refrained herself from thinking about what she saw too much, a small mercy she offered herself after the visceral panic that she experienced.</p>
<p>She decided it was best for her to take a cold shower, and stepped out of her apartment. The cold winter air should clear her head up after whatever she saw and felt in her most recent vision-no, a nightmare. It was a nightmare. </p>
<p>She stopped in front of the pharmacy two blocks down from her apartment complex. Some ibuprofen would do the job and help her sleep, but her eyes drifted to an alcohol shop across the street. </p>
<p>She wasn’t much of a drinker yet the idea of temporary sobriety from her own thoughts seemed very tempting. It seemed to lack benefits if considered as a solution to her problem, but a solution is still a solution.</p>
<p>One bottle. One bottle of cheap wine.</p>
<p>Being content with her purchase, she made her way out of the store, passing by a man who seemed to be in a rush. She tried steering clear of his path, but the doorway wasn’t exactly spacious and he had to be at least 6 foot 1 with the broadness of a boxer. </p>
<p>His fingers brushed against the back of her palm, which was normal in itself when navigating small spaces.</p>
<p>Except, it felt like she was tazed. A shock ran up her arm and gave her goosebumps.</p>
<p>The sensation didn’t last long, but it made her visibly tense. She flinched and held her hand to her chest. She forced a small offer of apology to the man and ducked out of the liquor store.</p>
<p>She felt her palms grow clammy.</p>
<p>Must be whatever that’s going on. She should grab some Benadryl at the pharmacy then head home, she thought. </p>
<p>She picked up her pace as she crossed the street, not minding that the man turned to look at her. Her boots crunched against the fresh snow.</p>
<p>She was halfway across the street when she began feeling lightheaded. Her pulse quickened. She cursed inwardly.</p>
<p>Not now, not now.</p>
<p>She repeated it like it was a mantra. She was about to turn to head straight for her apartment complex. She couldn’t afford to blackout in public, and definitely not in the middle of the road at midnight.</p>
<p>“Wait!”</p>
<p>She thought to herself that the call must have been for someone else. She continued treading through the snow.</p>
<p>“Hey!”</p>
<p>The heavy thud of boots grew in proximity behind her. She turned, hesitant. The man stopped about a foot away from her.</p>
<p>“Look, sorry about what happened at the door, I-” she began, not thinking to look the man in his face since he was hidden behind a scarf and cap.</p>
<p>“I know this is weird, but you… Do you… Have you been feeling weird lately? Like-ugh-” he seemed to be searching for the right words. </p>
<p>Something about his voice caught her attention. She stopped mid-sentence and looked up to see him.</p>
<p>It couldn’t be. But that’s impossible. How could-</p>
<p>She couldn’t seem to breathe as she registered the appearance of the man in front of her. It was like seeing a ghost. She managed to whisper, all the air in her knocked out.</p>
<p>“You’ve been having nightmares too, haven’t you?”</p>
<p>His brows furrowed, his head slowly nodding in agreement.</p>
<p>“Blackouts? Headaches?” She nodded at his questions.</p>
<p>She didn’t know why, but tears came to her eyes. The headache she had subsided, but her pulse still thrummed against her skin. The crimson scarf he had around his neck and face was pulled loose. He took off his cap and fixed his hair.</p>
<p>Oh god.</p>
<p>For the longest time, they studied each other, trying to concur something from the questions they asked and the answers they received. At that moment she wondered if there was some sort of divine force at work. Whatever that’s happening couldn’t be a simple coincidence. There had to be an explanation to the things she had been going through and the man that currently stood in front of her.</p>
<p>“You’ve seen my face, haven’t you?”</p>
<p>She couldn’t nod nor say yes to his question. But he was correct.</p>
<p>She was convinced he had to be a fragment of her imagination, a child born of the twisted part of her brain. </p>
<p>Yet here he was, standing in front of her in the flesh.</p>
<p>It was odd seeing him without the blood and scars that she recalled from the visions but she somehow felt glad, in a way, to see him this way.</p>
<p>What even was going on? Who is he? How is it that they’ve never met but she felt like she's looked at her face all her life?</p>
<p>She kept asking herself questions that she knew even he didn’t have the answers to.</p>
<p>The same chiselled face, those arched eyebrows, that long dark brown hair….</p>
<p>And those eyes. </p>
<p>The same vibrant eyes that seemed to shift from green to purple to grey. The eyes that she saw in… The eyes that belonged to…</p>
<p>“Eren.”</p>
<p>His name carried a feeling that she didn’t expect it to. It felt like desperation and longing. It was as if she had been yearning to say it for the longest time. It was alien, but it fell so naturally from her tongue that she was convinced there must be something else happening, something that she didn’t understand.</p>
<p>When she saw the cognizance that he had of his name, she was suddenly overcome with the urge to shove at him and scream at him. She felt her fists clench as her lips trembled. Names and faces she never knew came to her mind. Names and faces of people she somehow knew were dead.</p>
<p>The blond boy with blue eyes. A brother of sorts.</p>
<p>Armin.</p>
<p>The man with piercing grey eyes. A commander, and a distant family member.</p>
<p>Levi.</p>
<p>The girl who had brown hair and eyes and the softest smile. Her best friend.</p>
<p>Sasha.</p>
<p>Dozens more faces and names came to her in a flash.</p>
<p>He shared this unexplained feeling, his eyes flickering. He was having flashes too. As she saw from his face. She was about to ask him something. But she didn’t know which question to ask. Where could she start? She wanted to ask him questions about everything.</p>
<p>Then something caught her off guard. Out of the blue, his expression changed from one of apprehension to that of affection. A warm, sincere smile slowly carved across his lips. </p>
<p>She wasn’t sure what it meant, yet somehow all the doubt and anger and frustration she had in her faded away. She called his name out again.</p>
<p>“Eren.” She exhaled, her tone softer now as she took a step towards him.</p>
<p>He spoke, the same voice that haunted her from her visions. The same voice belonging to the man she saw dying in her arms earlier that night. This time though, it didn’t tear at her, it gave her serotonin. She felt an immense amount of happiness at the sound of it.</p>
<p>“Mikasa.”</p>
<p>The sound of his voice speaking her name felt odd, but it felt so familiar. So very familiar. </p>
<p>Who was this stranger? What was happening to her that she strangely felt warmth envelope her at his mention of her name? He made her feel as if she was finally home, after a long time away. </p>
<p>Home. That was it. He felt like home.</p>
<p>She wasn’t supposed to understand what it meant, but relief flooded her from head to toe. Something inside her told her to, and she surged forward, crashing against his solid figure. </p>
<p>His arms wrapped around her almost instinctively.</p>
<p>Logically this was wrong and odd on so many levels. He was a complete stranger. Someone she’d never met all her life. Yet here she was, bawling as they embraced in the middle of a street at midnight.</p>
<p>“I-I don’t know why I’m crying,” she sobbed into his shoulder as he breathed into her hair, holding her as humanly close as possible. He let her sob into his coat as she closed her eyes. She let her tense arms and body relax into his grip.</p>
<p>Her eyes were closed as she let herself cry.</p>
<p>More flashes came.</p>
<p>She saw them as children under a tree near one of those white brick walls. She saw them in beige jackets and white trousers gliding through the air on what seemed like ziplines. She saw so many other things, but one that stood out to her was the sight of a dark night sky speckled with stars in a myriad of colors, the ground entirely sand, and a giant branching tree of light, like a beacon, illuminating the entire space.</p>
<p>When her crying hiccuped to a stop, he chuckled, the sound soft and innocent.</p>
<p>He loosened his grip and placed a finger softly beneath her chin, tilting her head upwards to have their eyes meet.  Again she looked into those eyes. Those amazing, hauntingly beautiful eyes.</p>
<p>He said it again, her name, this time his tone soft yet assured, a smile on his lips.</p>
<p>“Mikasa.” It came out as a sigh. </p>
<p>A breath of relief.  Like that first inhale after a long dive underwater. </p>
<p>It was currently freezing, but she felt so comfortably warm, as if she was in thick woollen clothes in front of a fireplace.</p>
<p>He rested his forehead on hers gingerly, confusion still evident in his eyes. Then he spoke, his words reaching her with such certainty that she was convinced that there was nothing but the truth in them. He had a hard time saying what he wanted to say. He smiled so brightly through his words.</p>
<p>“I honestly can’t be sure about anything that’s happening too, but something tells me it’s been 2000 years. Whoever Eren was, whoever we were, and whatever happened that led to this, he meant for this-as confusing as it is-to happen.”</p>
<p>His smile grew, and lit up his face so gorgeously that she couldn’t help but smile too. His eyes grew glassy as he laughed. For the longest time, she just looked at him as happy tears traced lines down his face. His joyed laughter subsided after a while. </p>
<p>He then inhaled deeply, sighing. His soft palm rose to her cheek as he nestled his face in the crook of her neck. They swayed ever so softly as snow began fluttering down on them.</p>
<p>They were supposed to be complete strangers but somehow both of them were okay with this. It was cheesy but the world could have been burning and it wouldn’t matter.</p>
<p>This felt right, somehow. It felt like it should be. Like it should always have been.</p>
<p>She still was very much confused, but she couldn’t deny that this wasn’t something that she could explain. She closed her eyes and let herself smile, resting the side of her face against his own as he spoke, his voice soft.</p>
<p>“God, I’m glad it worked. I have so much to apologize for that I don’t even know where to begin. Oh, Mikasa.” </p>
<p>He seemed to sigh. They remained in their embrace, the flashes slowly piecing into one whole story. It began to make sense, bit by bit. </p>
<p>“I missed you so much, Mikasa. And I’ve always loved you, for more than 2000 years at this point in time. I always will.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>been thinking of coming back to post online after 7 years so here's my first fic up on ao3 weee</p>
<p>feels so nostalgic to be posting online again after so many years</p>
<p>english isn't my first language soooo there's bound to be mistakes :")</p>
<p>hope it's not too shabby ;)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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